History of the New Players Company

In 1972, Jack Boyle, a member of the RHS English Department, founded the New Players Company as a co-curricular activity involving 30 to 40 students who produced two or three plays during the year and another two in the summer. By 1979, the program had expanded to four to six plays during the school year plus a summer program and a special production for children, introduced by Brian Aschinger, who was then the Artistic Director of the Company. In 1986, Rachael Daum and Dennis Carroll, both faculty members at RHS, were appointed co-Artistic Directors. Two more resident directors, both English teachers at RHS, joined the company during the next two years: Lori Barnett in 1987 and Meg Schaefer in 1988. During the 1990’s student participation in the New Players Company steadily increased, until it comprised over 10% of the student body. Also during this period, numerous alumni began to return to the New Players Company to serve as directors and designers, most notably Laurie Sales, who assumed responsibility for running the Junior Company Program, as well as directing one or two senior productions each year. In 2005, Meg Schaefer was appointed Artistic Director of the Company.

Tickets

Tickets for all our performances can be ordered using the order form below. Checks are made out to RHS Association. Order form and check can be put in the ticket box at the Little Theatre or mailed to:

Like this:

Related

I am a member of the class of ’76 and was among those who participated in the New Players Co. The auditorium cum theater was painted black on our watch.

Kudos to New Players. It was the most fun anyone could have in high school. We even found a way to take serious naps on the wooden folding row chairs, a testament to our dedication to theater, and our creativity to get much needed rest as we spent most of our free hours in rehearsals.